"Another patient says Dennis came into his room and set fire to his wastebasket. This is really bad, Anne."

"I know. I've been trying to think of somewhere to move him-"

"No," Willa said.

The expression in the woman's eyes made Anne's heart thump in her chest.

"I mean it's really really bad. One of the other patients suffered third-degree burns when he tried to move the wastebasket." She took a deep breath to deliver the worst of the news. "And an oxygen tank went through a wall and killed the woman in the next room." bad. One of the other patients suffered third-degree burns when he tried to move the wastebasket." She took a deep breath to deliver the worst of the news. "And an oxygen tank went through a wall and killed the woman in the next room."

"Oh."

The word came out on a breath that seemed to empty Anne's lungs entirely, and she sat there, unable to move or speak or think, until her head swam.

"Oh my G.o.d," she whispered. Dennis had killed someone. Intentional or not, he was now the thing he claimed to admire most-a killer. "Where is he? I'll have to-Maybe Franny can watch Haley-"

"We don't know where he is, Anne," Willa said. "He's gone."

"Gone? Gone where? He's a twelve-year-old boy with no money and no home."

"In all the confusion with the fire and the explosion and dealing with the wounded, n.o.body saw him leave. He's missing."

The hospital had an open campus. Anybody could come or go anytime they wanted. Even patients-unless they were on a locked ward-could walk out of the building and off the property, and occasionally did. Staff usually kept everything under control, but the scene would have been chaotic. Everyone would have been concerned with the fire and the casualties.

Dennis had killed a woman. He would be able to read about himself in the newspaper.

"This is my fault," Anne said.

Willa reached across the table and put a hand on Anne's arm. "No, it isn't. You've done more for that child than anyone in his life."

"I couldn't get there to see him yesterday. I promised him I would be there and I would bring him something special if he did his writing a.s.signment."

"That doesn't give him an excuse to set the hospital on fire."

"Everybody in his life has let him down. I was trying to be the one person who wouldn't do that to him."

She shook her head and swore under breath. Her thoughts tumbled like kaleidoscope pieces. "What do we do now?"

"The sheriff's office has been notified. They're looking for him. I don't think you should do anything."

"Yeah." Anne sighed. "I've done enough already, haven't I? The court wanted to send him to a juvenile facility after the first incident. I begged for that not to happen."

"You were trying to do what you thought was best for the child, Anne. That's all you can do."

"He'll be going there now."

"There's no getting around that."

"No."

"You did the best you could, girl," Willa said, patting her hand.

"I know," Anne said. "I just wish it could have been good enough."

Dennis had walked what seemed like most of the night before getting to his old house, careful not to let anybody see him. He was good at that. He used to roam all over town in the night, looking in people's windows and watching them have s.e.x and stuff. Once he had seen a man f.u.c.king a blow-up doll. That had been crazy.

He didn't know what had happened to his family's house or any of their stuff. With his mother dead and his father dead and himself stuck wherever the court put him, his stupid half-sisters had gone away to live with some relative who didn't want anything to do with him.

Ha! They'd be surprised when they saw his picture in the paper.

To his shock, when Dennis had finally gotten to the house, practically everything had been ripped out of it-walls and floors and carpets. A big, huge trash bin was parked in the driveway, and it was full of junk like old drywall and linoleum and a broken toilet.

Dennis decided it didn't really matter to him that all the Farman stuff was gone. They hadn't had anything very nice anyway. And most of Dennis's prized possessions had been in his backpack that the detectives had taken away from him. They had probably divvied up the good stuff, like the pocketknife he had stolen from his father's dresser, and the cigarette lighter he had taken from his mother's purse. Probably n.o.body had wanted the dried-up rattlesnake head.

He had spent a cold night in the house with no blankets and no bed, but he was an outlaw now, so he had to just get over it. Today he would steal some stuff and find a place to hide it. He had always heard that b.u.ms lived in Oakwoods Park. Maybe he would live there too.

When it got light out he walked to the convenience store hoping, hoping, hoping with his fingers crossed that the old raghead guy that owned the place wasn't working. He had chased Dennis out of the store a million times for shoplifting stuff and trying to look at the dirty magazines.

That Paki b.a.s.t.a.r.d-that was what Dennis's father had called the old man, so Dennis called him that too.

Luckily the person behind the counter was a big, fat, pimple-faced girl, and the store was really busy with people getting coffee and doughnuts and burritos and stuff, so she didn't notice Dennis.

He cruised the aisles, lifting a little thing here and there and slipping them into the big pouch pocket on the front of his hooded sweatshirt. A Slim Jim, some Lifesavers, a tire gauge-just because he'd always wanted one.

He could have whatever he wanted now. He was calling all the shots. n.o.body could tell him what to do-especially not that stupid t.w.a.t Miss Navarre.

The television bolted to the wall behind the counter was showing the morning news. Dennis watched with one eye, waiting to see a picture of himself on the screen.

Some woman had been rescued after falling down a well. There were no new leads in the murder investigation of local artist Marissa Fordham. Some crazy-looking white-haired guy had gone missing. Finally the screen filled with a shot of the county mental health center with flames shooting out a window on the second floor.

Dennis inched closer to the counter and strained to hear. According to the reporter, the fire had been contained to the second floor and damages to the building were minimal. But-and here was the exciting part. Dennis almost s.h.i.t his pants when he heard it-one person had gone to the hospital with third-degree burns, and one had been killed-KILLED!-when an oxygen tank had blown through a wall.

He had killed somebody! The excitement was almost too much for him. Holy s.h.i.t! He had killed somebody! He was a killer!

To celebrate, he bought himself a breakfast burrito and a Mountain Dew with some of the money he had stolen from the nurse. Then, because he was feeling like such a hotshot killer and all, he decided he would buy himself some cigarettes.

"And a pack of Marlboros," he said.

The pimple-faced girl looked down at him. "Get real and get lost."

"They're for my mom."

"No, they're not."

"Yes, they are, and she's a real b.i.t.c.h. You want me to go and get her? She's in the car."

The girl looked out the window like she was looking for his mother, then rolled her eyes and gave him the cigarettes and his change. Stupid cow.

Dennis took his stuff and left, not sitting down to eat his burrito until he was out of sight of the store.

He felt different now than he had twenty minutes ago. Twenty minutes ago he had been just a kid. Now he was a killer. He felt bigger and stronger and meaner. He was going to show everybody just how bad he was. And he was going to start with that b.i.t.c.h Miss Navarre.

73.

He hadn't counted on the knife.

Zahn came at him like a wild animal, and Vince flashed on what Anne had said: You know, people don't look the same when they turn on you. You know, people don't look the same when they turn on you.

"Vince!" Mendez shouted, drawing his weapon.

Zahn's arm came down in an arc, the light catching on the blade of the knife. By reflex, Vince caught hold of the man's wrist and stepped to the side to get out of the path of the weapon.

"Zahn! Drop the knife!" Mendez shouted. "Drop the f.u.c.king knife!"

But Zahn didn't hear him. What was reasonable and civilized in him was gone, overridden by fear and demons. He struggled to pull free of Vince's grasp, the two of them crashing into the bed frame, falling against a nightstand.

Madness fueled and intensified Zahn's strength. Vince had half a foot and a good fifty pounds on him, and all he could do was stumble backward on his heels as Zahn continued his attack.

"DROP THE f.u.c.kING KNIFE!" Mendez shouted again.

From the corner of his eye Vince could see him trying to maneuver around them to get a clean shot.

Zahn twisted and yanked free of the hold Vince had on his wrist, stumbling backward and banging hard into the wall. Vince took the chance to dive across the box spring to the other side of the bed.

"DROP THE d.a.m.n KNIFE!!"

"TONY! DON'T SHOOT!" Vince shouted.

Zahn stood there, looking stunned, looking like he didn't know where he was or who he was or who they were. He looked at the knife in his hand, his arm still c.o.c.ked at the elbow, ready.

"Zander!" Vince said. "Zander! It's me, Vince. Put the knife down."

Zahn stared at the knife in his hand, fascinated. He stared at the knife and at his arm as if it weren't attached to his body.

Mendez had taken the stance to fire, his arms straight out in front of him, his finger on the trigger of the weapon. Everything about him was pulled as taut as a string on a bow. His dark eyes were as bright and hard looking as polished onyx.

"Zander, put the knife down," Vince said, lowering the tone and volume of his voice. "You need to put the knife down. Isn't your arm getting tired?"

Zahn looked uncertain. His fingers flexed on the handle of the knife.

"Aren't you tired, Zander?" Vince asked. "You've had a rough day."

He let the quiet hang, imagining his words trying to find a way into Zahn's brain and, once there, struggling to be routed and processed.

"I'm very tired, Vince," he said in his small, soft voice. The look in his wide eyes was still gla.s.sy and far away. He seemed to be staring into another dimension. "I'm very tired. Terribly tired."

"So let's put the knife down," Vince said, moving slowly down to the foot of the bed. "You don't need that thing. Put it down and we'll sit down and you can rest."

"I'm so very sorry," Zahn said.

"It's okay. Everything's okay. No harm, no foul, right?"

He took a slow step toward Zahn, keeping one arm stretched out in front of him, just in case.

"No," Zander murmured.

"Did you come here to see Marissa?" Vince asked quietly.

"Marissa. Marissa is gone."

"You miss her, don't you," Vince said. "She was a very special person, wasn't she? She accepted you for exactly who you are, didn't she?"

"Marissa," Zahn murmured. "Marissa is gone."

"I'm sorry for that, Zander. She was special to you and now she's gone. That's a scary place to be, isn't it? She left you alone, and you don't feel safe. But you're safe with us. So why don't you put the knife down?"

"I'm sorry," Zahn said, his hand flexing on the handle of the knife. "I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for, Zander?"

"I'm so sorry. Very sorry. Terribly sorry."

"Why are you sorry, Zander?" Vince asked. "Did you do something wrong? Did you do a bad thing, Zander?"

He began to rock slightly with his upper body, a sign of agitation.

"Very bad," he said. "I'm very bad. Terribly bad. Bad, bad."

"I don't think so, Zander," Vince said. "Why don't you put the knife down and we'll talk about it. Your arm must be very tired by now."

Zahn rocked a little harder.

"So tired," he said. "Very tired. I'm sorry."

"Did you hurt Marissa, Zander? Is that why you're sorry? Did you hurt Marissa?"

"Marissa, Marissa. Mommy, mommy. I'm so sorry."

"Did you hurt Marissa, Zander?"